The days of unlimited free storage on Snapchat are over. In a gesture that has elicited widespread outrage among the platform’s user base, the social media giant said it will start charging individuals who have stored more than 5 gigabytes of photos and videos on its “Memories” feature.
The choice, announced on September 29, 2025, is a major shift in Snapchat’s way of doing things and the newest demonstration of how technology firms are monetizing services that were previously entirely free.
For years, Snapchat users have been counting on Memories as their own personal cloud storage, archiving their most beloved snaps, videos, and stories without regard to storage constraints. All of that is about to come to an end.
Users who hit the new 5GB threshold will either have to pay for more storage, download their content to their own devices, or watch their oldest memories be erased to make way for new ones.
The move has set off a blizzard of indignant responses on social media, with users voicing shock that they’ll now be charged to view pictures and videos they’ve been hosting on the site for years.
Numerous users feel caught out by the unexpected switch, particularly those who’ve built large libraries of personal memories that now rest behind a possible paywall.
What Exactly is Changing?
Snapchat is launching a 5GB limit for storage of its Memories feature, and over-limit users will have to buy a storage plan.
The Memories feature, which was launched in 2016, enables users to store their snaps and stories within the app instead of having them disappear after being viewed a deviation from Snapchat’s original ephemeral messaging idea.
In the past, users had unlimited capacity to save content to Memories without incurring a charge. That unlimited capacity is now being cut back to 5GB for free users. While Snapchat says that most users are far from this limit, to power users and dedicated Snapchatters who have been accumulating content for years, the limit might be stifling.
To put 5GB into perspective, that’s roughly equivalent to about 1,500 to 2,000 photos or approximately 20 to 30 minutes of high-definition video, depending on file sizes and compression.
For users who have been actively using Memories since its launch in 2016 nearly nine years of saving content hitting this limit is entirely plausible.
The New Pricing Structure
Snapchat introduced three paid storage plans meant to suit different needs and budget sizes.
The lowest-tiered plan is a “Memories Only” plan for 100GB of space for $1.99 monthly. It’s an add-on plan for users who need extra Memories space but don’t need Snapchat’s other paid perks.
Snapchat subscribers, who are already charged $3.99 monthly for premium perks, will get 250GB of storage as part of their subscription.
This tier packages storage alongside other premium-only features such as custom app icons, special badges, and access to experimental features ahead of time.
At the upper end, Snapchat Platinum members who pay $15.99 per month will receive a whopping 5TB of storage ample room for hundreds of thousands of photos or hundreds of hours of video.
This level is obviously intended for users who will not ever delete anything and need almost unlimited space for their digital memories.
These pricing levels put Snapchat roughly in line with competitors like Google Photos and Apple’s iCloud, which also charge for storage beyond their free tiers.
However, the comparison has only fueled user frustration, with many questioning why they should pay Snapchat when they already use other cloud storage services.
The Twelve-Month Grace Period
Realizing that this transition could be a surprise to existing users who are already over 5GB, Snapchat is offering 12 months of temporary storage for any Memories that cross the 5GB threshold.
This grace period allows users one year to determine if they will move to a paid plan or download their content to their own devices.
Within this 12-month period, users over the limit can export their content or pay to continue utilizing the space.
Why is Snapchat Doing This?
The implementation of paid storage mirrors larger struggles for social media sites in 2025. These platforms, which have provided services for free for years, are facing more pressure to show sustainable sources of revenue beyond advertising.
Storage is expensive, and it costs Snapchat large sums of money. Having huge data centers, storing millions of users’ videos and photos, and making the content available quickly takes a lot of infrastructure investment. As Snapchat’s user population has grown and individuals have stored years of content, these expenses have increased.
The firm is also under financial duress. Similar to most tech firms, Snapchat has been looking to diversify its revenue outside of advertising. The launch of Snapchat in 2022 was an early move toward subscription revenue, and this monetization of storage continues that endeavor.
In addition, Snapchat could be looking at rivals that have prospered with monetization of storage. Google Photos discontinued its unlimited storage for free in 2021, and Apple has charged for iCloud storage over 5GB for ages.
From Snapchat’s viewpoint, it could just be keeping pace with an industry trend toward charging users for the luxury of cloud storage.
User Backlash and Concerns
“Paying $16 per month to see inebriated me devouring cheesy chips? Think not,” read one trending tweet that echoed the sentiment of numerous users who believe the cost is too high for what essentially is storage of personal photos.”.
Others have complained about the morality of altering the terms of service once users have spent years accumulating their Memories collections.
Privacy-minded users have also complained about transferring years of their personal videos and photos to devices, concerned about what Snapchat does with material that still sits on servers after users discontinue storage payments.
How This Stacks Up Against the Competition
Snapchat’s pricing is actually competitive when set against other leading cloud storage services, although that hasn’t prevented user complaints.
Google One, the Google Photos storage, Gmail, and Google Drive storage, costs $1.99 monthly for 100GB, $2.99 for 200GB, and $9.99 for 2TB. Apple iCloud also has matching prices: $0.99 for 50GB, $2.99 for 200GB, and $9.99 for 2TB.
Many users don’t understand why they would need to pay for Snapchat storage when they already have a Google Photos or iCloud account.
The other significant difference is that Apple and Google have been charging for storage for many years Google Photos only provided unlimited free storage from 2015 until 2021 and Snapchat is reversing course after years of unlimited free storage, so the change feels more abrupt.
What Should Users Do?
Users impacted by this change have a few choices to consider.
The easiest answer is to download your Memories onto your own device prior to when the 12-month window closes. Snapchat has made this fairly easy to do, with the ability to download all saved material in bulk. You can then save these files on your phone, computer, or other cloud service of your choice.
Users who use Memories extensively and prefer to keep on saving content directly into Snapchat may find the $1.99 monthly option affordable, provided 100GB is enough for them. That’s comparable to what they’d pay for similar storage from Google or Apple.
For users already subscribed to Snapchat for the advanced features, the 250GB of storage included may be sufficient without needing an upgrade. And for the tiny fraction of users with massive Memories libraries, the Platinum plan’s 5TB may be justified, although the $15.99 per month price will cause many to hesitate.
Users might implement a practice of occasionally downloading Memories and then erasing them from Snapchat servers to remain below the 5GB threshold but retain material that matters.
The Broader Trend
Snapchat’s action is part of a broader trend in the tech world: the demise of “free” services. As companies become more mature and investors less willing to support years of unprofitable expansion, firms are looking more and more to their users to create revenue directly through paid features and subscriptions.
This phenomenon goes well beyond storage. We’ve witnessed social networks unveil subscription levels for premium features, streaming media services end password sharing, and even email companies begin to charge for more advanced capabilities.
Paid subscriptions, they say, can actually better align incentives by making users customers and not the product.
The Future of Digital Memories
When we entrust our memories to tech companies, we’re dependent on those companies maintaining their services, keeping prices reasonable, and not arbitrarily deleting our content. Service shutdowns, policy changes, and price increases can all threaten access to years of personal history.
The Snapchat scenario is a good reminder that users should keep their own copies of key pictures and videos rather than depending only on any given platform. External disks, multiple cloud providers, and periodic downloads can give redundancy and protection from policy changes such as this.
What Happens Next
Snapchat promises 12 months of additional temporary storage for Memories that are over the 5GB limit, allowing users to have time to determine if they want to upgrade. The company obviously expects that once the initial outcry passes, most users will either accept the price change or silently download their material and migrate.
The success of this plan will be based on user action in the next several months. If many of the users impacted opt to pay for storage, other social networking sites might enact similar policies. If users collectively abandon Memories, Snapchat might have to rethink its strategy.
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